AEQUIMANVS

@aequimanvs​​:       * [  �  ] . 　. 　　.

❝      𝐈𝐅  𝐈  𝐓𝐎𝐋𝐃  𝐘𝐎𝐔  what’s  been  asked  of  me . 　. 　　.      ❞    a  mild  [ 𝙾𝚅𝙴𝚁 ] ─ statement,  perhaps:    what’s  been  offered  to  her  is  more  of  a  ludicrous  proposition  she  had  every  right  to  refuse,  to  brush  off.  and  yet  she  dwells  upon  it  still,    blunt-edged  teeth  worrying  her  lip,  her  tea  left  untouched  like  last  saturday    ( cold.  cloudy.  OVER, ).    what  i  need  is  ─    𝘢  𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥  𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯.  mina’s  gaze  returns  to  him,  quiet  and  apprehensive.  

❝      will  you  hear  me  out?    even  if  it  sounds ─    PREPOSTEROUS,  at  first.      ❞

the experience with dracula had scarred them all, in ways they rarely discussed openly. the meetings were always rather bittersweet, thanks to that — there was always an underlying current of shared trauma, ever-present but left untouched, that left room for tension even in reunions meant to be pleasant and joyful. as much as quincey cared for mina, he could not shake the remembrance that an ugly thing had brought them together, and he had no doubt that she felt the same. her demeanour now, which might have only been cause for slight concern in a normal friendship, worried him rather profoundly. 

True, strangers are wary of others. More-so the monsters that lurk in the swamp, the woods, even the city. It’s safer to assume the stranger you see on the road is ready to shoot than greet with an open hand and only find yourself dead on the road with nothing but an alligator gnawing on the bones. Sokanon urges Akichita to a trot, ’ 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐫𝐮𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐯𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐃𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐬. 𝐄𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐧 𝐮𝐩 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡.’ She gestures upwards to the peeking orb, lithe shadows extending to the glimmering waters. Throwing a glance his way, curiosity gets the better of her, ’ 𝐒𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡? ’

quincey was not quite able to stop his spine from stiffening and his hands from clenching tight around the reins at the mention of the so-called vampire. he could almost fancy that the old knife wound in his belly burned in response to the word. years ago, before that damned business with dracula, he would have dismissed the rumour as nothing more than idle superstition, but now, it unsettled him more than a little. 

❝   nonsense!  ❞    christine insists, and meg eagerly nods in tandem. they both share a glance, a smile, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚜𝚘 𝚖𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚊𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚐𝚒𝚛𝚕𝚜 𝚜𝚠𝚊𝚖𝚙 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎.

christine, in her boldness, considers offering him her hand. perhaps if only for the sake of aiding him in this perilous endeavor.   ❝   you’ve got strong legs, you’re already halfway there!  ❞  

a beat. she flushes. ❝   of course, if you’d rather not…  ❞  

in the current situation, refusing the lesson would have caused more fuss than simply going along with whatever christine insisted upon. reluctantly, quincey dragged his feet across the floor and followed her lead. 

“  𝚘𝚑  ,   𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞    —  quincy morris?  ”    lashes flutter like the broken wings of a frail butterfly  ,  their colors resplendent for perhaps one of the last times they might open.    green & blue  ,  like a pond in the sunlight  ;  fresh and weary at once.    “  why  ,  it is!     oh  ,  it is.    I was not wrong!    you were here all the time  ,  weren’t you?  ”

𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚋𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚖𝚜 𝚞𝚙𝚘𝚗 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚕𝚒𝚙𝚜 𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚒𝚛𝚎𝚍   —  almost drowsy  ,  rather than weak as her condition would otherwise suggest  ,  seeming as if she’d only spent the night vibrantly as she was oft wont to by dancing it all away  ,  with but a few hours of sleep before the day to follow must resume.    an excitement seems to lie just underneath her countenance  ,  as though she seems fond of the memory of what came before her rest.    perhaps many suitors had made their advances  ,  yet some private wish appears found in his company alone.  “  it is you  ,  darling  ,  who seems so.  what else must I look upon when I first wake up?  surely not the sun.  ”

it broke his heart, seeing lucy in this languid state. when he had first met her, she had been the most vibrant creature he had ever laid eyes on; even in a crowded ballroom, her brightness had outshone even the most lavishly-dressed lords and ladies. that vibrance was not entirely gone now, but this mystery illness had trapped it behind such a heavy weight of exhaustion that it was difficult to find any traces of it still there. 

She slows Akichita to a slow, looking over her shoulder to greet the stranger ( a fellow native this far out from the reservation? ) with a somewhat apprehensive stare. Still, the hunter smiles, a little, ’ 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐨 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐢𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐰𝐚𝐦𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐦𝐨𝐤𝐞. 𝐈'𝐦… 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐰, 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲. ’

His heart was overflowing with joy and as Arthur entered the room the grin on his face, that’d been there ever since Lucy had agreed to become his wife, only broadened. Not that he’d ever felt particularly fond of being the centre of attention, but today he didn’t mind it all that much. He held Quincey close for a moment and hearing the other man’s words made what had happened even more real, robbed him of the fear that it’d been just a beautiful dream. “Thank you, my friend. Even though I truly cannot fathom how she’d deem me more worthy of her hand in marriage than you or Jack.”